Monday, August 31, 2009

And I Don't Want To Go Home Tonight

The roads to Tambun was quite empty from any vehicle at the time we hit the main road from Gopeng Road. The surfaces of the old tarmac looked all dark and wet from the rain. It had stopped for now, but there were chances that another downpour or two were on the way by looking at how those faded gray clouds brewed in the sky.

The car broke the silence on the road as she cut through the wind, passing the Royal Perak and then Istana Raja Muda, all the way towards the inner heart of the city. I had to be extra careful since the road looked somehow oily, and to slip off the road was not something I was looking forward to experience at the hour, especially with this young lady sitting next to me with the hopes that I will fulfill the duty to send her home safely instead of flying next to next all the way into the off-road ledge with complete slow-motion effect, blurred vision and slurry screams. I took a quick glance at her, who was then still calmly seated, her eyes on the road. She looked dead.

It has been a while since we spoke to each other, despite the close distance we had in between. Well it was freezing both on the outside and inside of the car, and with no life moving around the blocks, surely things tend to get her sleepy and lazy to even do anything. She hid both of her hands in between her legs, slightly covered with her tote bag. Probably she was cold, but the air-conditioner was already at its lowest. I couldn't tune down the window since it was even worst to have traveling cold wind from outside to hit you continuously than the air-conditioner did. The radio played different types of songs now, slowly shifting from the fast beating raps of SouljaBoy's and Kanye West's then to less aggressive but relaxed pop and ballad by some Malay bands.

"You," she broke the silence.

"Yes?"

"Siapa nyanyi lagu ni?"

"Ungu with Rossa," I replied with my eyes still on the road.

"This version is sweeter, kan?"

"Ha'ah. I like this one better," I said as I increased the volume of the tuner by two clicks. "It's taken from Ayat-ayat Cinta the OST."

She didn't reply. I turned to look at her. She was already looking at me when I did, her eyes locked into mine, and in my mind I wondered: how she could stayed so fresh and lively even after the almost an-hour ride, so far, in such cold environment? She looked so reddish and warm with pinkish vibes masking over her lovely fair skin. Her lips were still moist and lovely when mine already had broken skin all over them. Her hair fell helplessly on her forehead, slightly covering her right eye and eyebrow. Her eyes looked shiny when glares from passing streetlights reflected on their surfaces. She looked so calm and peaceful but in a way or another that look on her was as if she was helpless, as if her eyes were calling for mercy. Her lips barely moved with the lyrics but I knew she was singing along - only none a sound came out.

The radiance in me, they came hitting again.

I put my eyes on the road again as we reached the crossroad next to Pantai Puteri Hospital like she previously instructed me to. We stopped at the traffic light, and I turned to her to ask for next directions. She asked me politely to take the right turn to the main road that led to Tambun. As the lights turned to green, I took the instruction she gave me and started to speed up along the road since it started to rain again.

"Nanti dekat simpang tu you turn kiri k," she said as she pointed to the junction she meant.

The series of turnings continued for a few more times until we finally entered a road that led to a housing area with residences the size of supermarkets. Alright, I might be exaggerating but to me the residential area to where we were was no ordinary one - there were numerous bungalows and semi-D's; big, expensive fancy rides; some of these huge, tall fences; and things only the rich and famous could only afford. 'She lives here?', I asked myself as I slowly brought the car along the empty, long road.

"Okay you, you park dekat sini," she said. Her small, petite index pointing to an empty spot under a streetlight. I carefully parked the car and got it to a full stop. I placed the gear to neutral, pulled the handbrake up and unlocked the doors by pulling the central locking pin up. Then I turned to her.

"You wait here kejap boleh? I nak masuk kejap then I get back to you. Okay?"

"Okay."

She opened the door and ran under the rain into one of the houses via a personal gate. So that was her house, i said to myself - a two-storey townhouse three times the size of mine. It looked dark from outside except at the hall where it was well lighted. The house had a small garden with varieties of small plants that provided shade and natural closure from outsiders to look freely pass the lawn and onto the house fully. There were two cars parked next to next under the huge porch - a black Perdana and a 3-series gray BMW, both with Perak plates - while the end parking lot was empty.

It took a while until she came out. She wore an additional pink hooded jacket this time and she walked to the car. There was someone following behind her, also in hooded jacket but in black. It was too dark for me to check on this other person as he/she turned around and closed the gate while rosy cheeks opened the door and ducked into the car. There were drops of water on her nose and lips, of the one who owned the rosy cheeks. She looked excited.